17 h. ago China’s risky shadow banks back in spotlight after debt crackdown

China’s crackdown on borrowing by local governments is forcing state-run entities in even some of the wealthiest provinces to tap costly credit from non-bank lenders, a stopgap that is increasing risk in an opaque corner of the financial system. The borrowing marks a return of China’s shadow-banking market, which is more loosely regulated than traditional lenders and had been reined in over the past few years in a bid to reduce risk. Since September, industrial investment arms and financing...

Economics

3 d. ago Why the real AI race is within China and not across the Pacific

For much of the global debate, the race for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy has been framed as a binary contest between the United States and China. As Washington envisions it, victory hinges on frontier models and compute scale, a battle dominated by a handful of American labs. China is cast as the challenger, constrained by export controls and dependent on catching up. That narrative is increasingly outdated. China is not pursuing a single AI strategy. It is running three large-scale...

Politics

3 d. ago Watch America is Run by Lawyers, China by Engineers, Says Expert. Who Will Win?

Watch America is Run by Lawyers, China by Engineers, Says Expert. Who Will Win?  Bloomberg.com

Science

3 d. ago Latest Update: Nexperia dispute flares again as China accuses Dutch side of dodging demands, trying end

Latest Update: Nexperia dispute flares again as China accuses Dutch side of dodging demands, trying end-run around China production  Automotive News

Politics

8 d. ago Train runs down, kills 11 in China's worst rail accident in over a decade

Train runs down, kills 11 in China's worst rail accident in over a decade  Reuters

Events

8 d. ago Hong Kong fancy dress squash event serves up HK$390,000 for Operation Santa Claus

Squash players in comical outfits swung their rackets nonstop with enthusiasm at an annual fundraising tournament last week to support vulnerable communities in Hong Kong. Held at the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) squash centre, the 27th Wing Ding Squash Charity Tournament has raised HK$390,000 so far, with a goal of reaching HK$500,000 for Operation Santa Claus (OSC), an annual citywide fundraising initiative run by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK since 1988. Stephen...

Culture

1 week ago 'China running a racket': EU attacks Beijing's rare earth curbs; bloc looking for alternatives

'China running a racket': EU attacks Beijing's rare earth curbs; bloc looking for alternatives  Times of India

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong kindergarten moves Japan study tour to mainland China as row deepens

A Hong Kong private kindergarten operator has changed the destination of a study tour from Tokyo to Chengdu, citing a government warning issued amid escalating tensions between China and Japan. A notice from Victoria Educational Organisation, which runs eight campuses of kindergartens and nurseries in the city, and its parent-teacher association was circulated online, revealing the announcement that was later confirmed by the Post on Tuesday. “In light of the recent advisory from the [Hong Kong...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong kindergarten moves Japan tour to mainland China amid diplomatic row

A Hong Kong private kindergarten operator has changed the destination of a study tour from Tokyo to Chengdu, citing a city government warning issued amid a diplomatic row between China and Japan. A notice from Victoria Educational Organisation, which runs eight campuses of kindergartens and nurseries in the city, and its parent-teacher association was circulated online on Monday and confirmed by the Post on Tuesday. “In light of the recent advisory from the [Hong Kong government] urging...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong kindergarten moves Japan tour to mainland China as row deepens

A Hong Kong private kindergarten operator has changed the destination of a study tour from Tokyo to Chengdu, citing a city government warning issued amid a diplomatic row between China and Japan. A notice from Victoria Educational Organisation, which runs eight campuses of kindergartens and nurseries in the city, and its parent-teacher association was circulated online on Monday and confirmed by the Post on Tuesday. “In light of the recent advisory from the [Hong Kong government] urging...

Politics

1 week ago China’s AI stock rally has room to run as valuations lag US giants: Goldman

The artificial intelligence-led stock rally in China is far from a bubble, as the nation’s technology firms still have room to expand valuations and earnings through their focus on applications, according to Goldman Sachs’ chief China equity strategist. China’s approach to investing more capital in AI applications as opposed to the US strategy of focusing on computing power gave investors “comfort that its AI monetisation capability could be better, at least in the short term”, Kinger Lau said...

Politics

2 w. ago China, Running Piraeus Port, Tells U.S. Not for Sale, Butt Out

China, Running Piraeus Port, Tells U.S. Not for Sale, Butt Out  The National Herald

Politics

2 w. ago Greece’s Piraeus port not for sale, China tells US By Reuters

Greece’s Piraeus port not for sale, China tells US By Reuters  Investing.com

Politics

2 w. ago China woman makes dresses from peanut shells, kernels, turning farmland into runway

A rural Chinese woman has gone viral online for her creativity, transforming farmland into a dazzling catwalk by designing dresses from natural materials such as peanut shells, corn leaves, red beans, sweet potatoes, and corn kernels. The blogger, known online as “Village Magical Treasure,” boasts over 152,000 followers on Douyin and hails from Hengzhou in Guangxi province, southern China. In her videos, she artfully uses materials like peanut shells, dried grass, corn kernels, and corn husks to...

Politics

2 w. ago China accuses US of undermining ties with Greece in envoy’s Piraeus port remarks

China has accused the United States of trying to undermine its relations with Greece after the US ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle urged Athens to sell the Chinese-operated port of Piraeus. Guilfoyle called the presence of China’s state-owned shipping giant Cosco at the port in the south of Greece “unfortunate”, in an interview last week with Greek broadcaster Antenna TV. “But I think there are ways around it, that something could be worked out, whether you pursue a path of enhancing output in...

Politics

2 w. ago Why are tensions between China and Japan running so high now?

While failing to see eye to eye is hardly new to Beijing and Tokyo, Sino-Japanese relations have been especially strained this month and are at risk of worsening even further. The trigger for the downturn was Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments to the Japanese parliament on November 7 that the use of force against Taiwan could be perceived as a “survival-threatening situation”, which would permit Tokyo to deploy the Japan Self-Defence Forces. She has refused to retract her...

Events

2 w. ago China’s financial tentacles run deeper through America than previously thought

China’s financial tentacles run deeper through America than previously thought  The Economist

Politics

2 w. ago Hasan Piker’s China tour draws fire after viral Tiananmen police encounter

American political commentator and live-streamer Hasan Piker has stirred controversy during his ongoing trip to China, with a viral encounter in Tiananmen Square and remarks that critics say amount to promoting Chinese propaganda. On Monday, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, shared on X (formerly Twitter) an interview Piker did with state-run China Global Television Network last week, writing: “Real reason why mega #US influencer Hasan Piker is in #China.” In the...

Events

2 w. ago Fame for China food vendor who resembles Japan animator, offers free meals to needy

A wonton street shop owner in China has become a local celebrity for looking like the Japanese animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Yin Zhenggen, 76, who has been nicknamed the Hayao Miyazaki of Nanjing because he bears a striking resemblance to the filmmaker. His shop is also like one that appears in Miyazaki’s fairy tales; it provides free food for people in need. Yin and his wife, Wang Chunlan, have been running the shop in Nanjing, eastern China’s Jiangsu province, for the past four...

Politics

2 w. ago PhD for landfill supervisor raises a stink over credential excess in China

A county-level sanitation office in southern China has invited ridicule and stoked a public debate after posting a job that requires a PhD to supervise garbage trucks and landfills – an unusual demand that critics say epitomises China’s runaway degree inflation. The posting in Guangdong province, by the office that manages urban environmental sanitation for Shixing county, appeared online last week under a notice for “urgently needed high-level talent for public institutions” issued by the...

Politics